"Words are our most
inexhaustible source of magic."
-J.K. Rowling
Is it possible that Q1 will close in just three weeks? Apparently, yes. I was so busy I didn’t notice the weeks flying by. Heads up - I close my grades a week early. That means that all work needs to be submitted by the end of the school day on October 9th. No. Exceptions. I mean, I have to preserve my sanity somehow. I need those extra seven days to get it all together. The upside is it makes for a very nice actual quarter close and a bit of a head start on our second quarter. I think everyone will appreciate it, once they get used to it. In the meantime, if you’re a student, check your grades. If you’re a parent, check your kid’s grades. Just to keep us all in sync, I’ll be doing the same thing, checking grades.
Two big-point assignments hit my grade book just before it closes: Writer’s Notebooks (October 1st) and Independent Reading (October 7th.) And while grading is not typically in my top five things to do on weekends, I cannot wait to read those QuickWrites! Blue sky. That shouldn’t be such a novel thing, but I’m not sure I have ever been so grateful to see it. I’ve spent nearly every free second outside in the fresh air this weekend. I’m hoping we all had a chance for that.
Now that the smoke has literally cleared, it’s becoming apparent that the end of our first quarter of distance learning is rapidly approaching. Q1 ends October 15. I close my grades one week prior, which means all work needs to be turned in by October 8th. There are two quarter-long assignments that will soon be submitted: Writer’s Notebooks (October 1st) and Independent Reading (October 7th.) Both represent effort throughout the quarter and, as such, are worth more points than daily work. It would be a good idea to talk together about these assignments, to make sure they are getting the effort and attention needed to do well. This week we will have our second station rotation on Monday & Tuesday and I’m really looking forward to it. Three of the stations call for individual work, clearing the way for me to have time with small groups to discuss our pre-writing effort. The biggest shortcoming of online learning is the time together with students. Small group meetings over Zoom are as close as we come this quarter. I can’t wait! I continue to realize that I don’t really know what to expect from this strange school year. On Friday last week, I had 100% attendance in all classes. On Thursday, only one student was out. It’s extraordinary to me; I am utterly surprised. I thought learning from home would prompt more absences, not less. You know, I thought inertia would kick in. I’m pretty sure it boils down to the kids themselves. I think we can all be inspired by these not-quite-young-adults who are showing us what resilience and tenacity look like.
For the next few weeks, we’ll be gathering story ideas from our lives and jotting them down in our Writer’s Notebooks. I’m an over-thinker and when my teachers used to tell me to write, my brain went totally blank. To remedy this, I find having an abundance of ideas, organized and documented, is the perfect cure for writer’s block. Make time to talk together to share those “family classics” that we sometimes forget. I’m guessing there are more than a few gems that could inspire a great autobiographical piece or even get twisted into a work of fiction. Enjoy reminiscing! Can we all agree? Friday holidays are nice, but an official, everybody-gets-the-day-off Monday holiday is a beautiful thing.
This short week we will begin our class novel, The Benefits of Being an Octopus, by Ann Braden. However tempting, don’t read ahead on this one. I find that nothing brings a classroom together like a shared experience. Novels are the perfect way to accomplish this. In addition to being a great read, we’ll use it as a mentor text to uncover professional writing moves we can practice and then use in our own realistic fiction narratives. Win-win. Plus, after seeing the results from an initial assessment, reading comprehension scores are lower this year. I suspect it is harder for all of us to focus with so much change and uncertainty. Extra reading in the classroom will be just what we all need. Students: Octopus classroom reading will not count toward your Independent Reading page total. Keep reading the novels you have chosen on your own time. We have some catching up to do. |
AuthorBeth Fabiano - Busy 7th Grade ELA teacher, wife, mother Archives
May 2021
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